"It is, after all, mostly little, common things that make up our lives."
--Elisabeth Elliot

Monday, April 13, 2009

Eggs only a son could love…

It’s Monday! I don’t know if that sentence deserves an exclamation mark as I spent most of my time at work trying to put together a game table for a charity auction…and it’s still not done! Ugh!

I opened up the fridge when I walked in the door today to find myself a little snack and the same thing happened today that did yesterday and the day before and the day before. Eggs came rolling out around my feet in a torrential down pour of protein goodness. Or badness, rather, because I am sick of eggs. Read that again. Sick. Of. Eggs. Surely you can relate.

For this year’s Easter Feast, I was charged with bringing (of all possible things) deviled eggs. Easy enough since I hosted the egg dyeing extravaganza at my house, right? I would surely have enough eggs.

One catch.

I have never before made deviled eggs. It’s just one of those things that my mom does so well that if I were ever to want such a thing, I would just call her up and ask her to make it (like potato salad, banana bread and overnight rolls). But surely, I have watched enough times to be able to figure it out. How hard could it be?

More difficult than you think. *sigh*

To start with, did you know that sometimes eggs can be a bugger to peel smoothly? No. Well, they can. A hint from my momma…buy the eggs a week in advance of the time you are going to boil them. Older eggs peel easier than fresh ones. See? Here are my freshly peeled eggs.

Yes. They are dreadful.

I gave it two trial runs before attempting the real thing. The verdicts were not so good, although I liked them all (I must have been craving eggs which is quite unusual for me seeing as how I almost never eat eggs-ask friends that I have camped with, I am a difficult one to feed). Teensy didn’t like the first ones, Hubby thought the second ones had too much mustard and Bubba adored the third ones immensely!

All in all, I made it. I made the deviled eggs, a relish tray filled with cauliflower, carrots, olives, pickles and ranch dip and my signature pinwheels that everyone loves so very much. I fulfilled my end of the feast bargain and lived to tell about it another year…and no one died of food poisoning so I would call that a win. Coming from my kitchen, that is a win.

Even after I deviled 27 eggs for dinner, we ended up with ones from the hunt. Eggs have been spilling out of my fridge for days and I am ready for them to stop. But how do I get rid of hard-boiled eggs? I had to do some research to figure that out and came up with some super simple ideas to share with you.

So without further ado, to Make this Monday Manageable (as well as, that Easter egg stash in your fridge) here are some ideas for you.

Tired of chocolate? Try out these cookies for the kids lunches this week. They’ll use up some of those hard-boiled eggs!

Cream together lemon zest, lemon extract, sugar, salt and butter in a food processor. Add in hard boiled eggs and process until fully incorporated. Mix in egg. Add flour and pulse until dough just comes together.

At this point you can chill the dough for a bit if your kitchen is very hot, otherwise roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface until it is 1/4 inch thick and cut into rounds with a 2 inch cookie or biscuit cutter. Dip the cut cookies into the egg white then dredge in the sugar. Arrange on baking sheet - cookies will not spread - and bake until just beginning to brown at the edges, about 12 minutes.

Remove to a wire rack to cool.

Makes 4 dozen.

How about some potato salad to go with those steaks that you are dying to throw on the grill (since it is Spring and nice enough to finally cook outdoors)? Try this.

Preparation:

Combine potatoes, egg, onions, and celery. Stir in mayonnaise, mustard, and salt and pepper to taste. (Stir the mayonnaise and mustard in a little at a time, until you have the flavor and consistency you like.) Top with thinly sliced tomatoes and cucumber, if desired. Serves 6 to 8.

I can hear you now. “But what about the egg shells?” I have just the answers for you. Try one of these ideas…

You can use them to clean things like vases which are hard to clean inside. Crush them up, add them to the vase with hot soapy water and swish it around.

Clean and rinse saved eggshells and let them dry. Crush up shells into little pieces. You can do this by putting them into a plastic baggie and gently pound them - the kids love doing this! Have the children put glue onto the poster board anywhere they want to. Give them the eggshells to sprinkle over the glue. Have them make patterns or designs. After the glue is dry, you can also have the children paint over the eggshells.

Crush up the eggshells and place them in outdoor potted plants or the garden to add calcium and keep away snails and slugs.

All in all, I guess there are a lot of ways you can get rid of those eggs (throwing them at unsuspecting husbands is another good way). Have fun using up all of your Easter remnants on this Monday. I will sure be using my tips to make it more manageable for me today!